John Strauss on March 1, 2007

Our main speaker will be John Strauss, Professor of Language and Literature at Bucks County Community College, acting chair of the Greater Philadelphia local of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), and a member of DSA’s national board.

“Over 45 million people without health insurance; employers dropping health plan benefits; cost of health insurance shooting through the roof. Attempts to create private accounts out of Social Security. School vouchers and privatization that cost more, don’t work, and decimate public school finances. Funding cuts for public education that hurt our already weakened schools and our students. Funding cuts for the EPA that result in weaker environmental protection.

“Everywhere we turn, we see attempts to cut human necessities out of the public realm, usually putting them in corporate hands, to the detriment of the majority—in spite of the generally lower cost, stronger oversight, and broader access under public ownership. We need to bring the priority back to people’s needs—in public awareness, in political discussion, and in political action.”

We will also have an update on the healthcare front from Chuck Pennacchio, Executive Director, PA Healthcare Solutions Coalition (http://www.pahcsc.org/), who is promoting SB 1085.